ELUSIVE SPIRIT OF THE FOREST

Back in the 1970's when Miguel Alvarez de Toro, the father of conservation in Chiapas (Mexico), spoke to me about a bird that lived high in the mountains of Mundo Maya, among giant trees and 15-meter-tall ferns, my curiosity was aroused, and so began a fascinating adventure and many years of research. I knew then, that to photograph the creature, I had to become acquainted with it.

The quetzal is considered the most beautiful bird on the continent. For the ancient Maya, it was the symbol of life, fertility and abundance. Any object, banner or headdress adorned with its iridescent plumes symbolized power and unlimited wealth. Along ancient trade routes, quetzal feathers were in demand and fetched a pretty price. To harvest the feathers, the bird was captured alive, judiciously plucked, and then set free (its feathers grew back once the bird molted.) According to documents inherited by the Spanish missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas (1474-1566), capturing or hunting quetzals was considered to be a great offense: "he who killed the bird with the rich plumes was punished by death, because it was so hard to find; its feathers were of great value and were used as money".

The quetzal, (Pharomachrus mocinno) from the Latin words pharo (light) and macrus (big), meaning bird of great luminosity. It inhabits the cloud forests and is almost extinct, as only a few of its kind remain in the highest mountains of Mundo Maya.

Cloud forest vegetation is dense, and includes evergreens, bromeliads, mosses, lichens, wild orchids and 15-meter-high ferns. The jaguar, the tapir, the spider monkey and the rare pavon (a large, peacock-like bird with black feathers and a red horn on its head) are some of the inhabitants of these humid areas. However, the quetzal is possibly the most fascinating animal existing in these forests.

From the technical point of view, such terrain is difficult to photograph. When it is not raining, the humidity fogs the wide, outer lenses of the telephotos, and for most of the day, light is at a minimum. All of this, along with the difficulty of even sighting a quetzal, meant I spent several months, and a variety of seasons, in the forest before getting the shots I wanted. The male quetzal is about 35 centimeters in length, with tail feathers reaching almost one meter. The feathers are iridescent, changing color with the light, running from gold to royal blue to emerald green, in contrast to its bright red breast. As is true of many species, the female is less spectacular. Her gray-green color varies little, and she is missing the hallmark tail feathers.

Quetzals are fruit eaters with a marked preference for the wild avocado of their natural habitat. They will also eat insects and smaller vertebrates, such as frogs and lizards. During the mating season—February through March—the males can be seen executing pirouettes in full flight, chattering the whole time. Once paired off, the couple finds a rotting tree trunk and sets about carving their nest, usually 10-20 meters above the forest floor. Occasionally a breeding pair will take over an abandoned nest, even one belonging to another species, such as woodpeckers.

With the help of some locals, my team and I ranged across the exotic mountaintop habitat of the quetzal in search of nests. Once we sighted one, it was necessary to wait and make sure the pair was in fact occupying the nest and the female was intent on laying. Satisfied that this was the case, we built a hiding place so the creatures remained unaware of our existence. We photographed the birds through a small hole, our only window to the outside world. The female laid two, sky blue eggs, which is normal for the species. Incubating them was a shared task, and when the male was in the nest, his graceful tail feathers hung down against the tree, camouflaging with the surrounding vegetation. They took turns throughout the day, and we got some great shots when they were both present and were changing places. When the chicks hatched, they were fed by both parents; feeding sessions increased as appetites and bodies grew, and so did the photo opportunities. At four weeks of age, the fledglings left the nest for good, losing themselves in the year-round mist that magically envelops their mountaintop world.

Reserves in the region of El Triunfo, Chiapas, and the highlands of Guatemala now protect the cloud forests and its wildlife, but there is much more to do if we are to keep this rare and beautiful bird—that has existed for thousands of years—from becoming merely a legend.